


Days

by rednihilist



Category: Interstellar (2014)
Genre: Angst, Drama, Gen, Manpain, time dilation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-19
Updated: 2015-03-19
Packaged: 2018-03-18 13:41:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3571715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rednihilist/pseuds/rednihilist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They're beautiful children in their space station, the universe their river as they steer serenely towards land.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Days

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: No profit is gained by this writing.

Days, a week maybe, two on the outside, less than a month: all of it parsed out among these strangers of the blood, her family, his kin, most older than he is and all of them so damn young. They're beautiful children in their space station, the universe their river as they steer serenely towards land. There's nothing killing them but Murph's plight of old age, a life well lived, or an accident here and there, a suicide maybe. Babies, all of them, so hopeful and naïve.

Are there villains here onboard? Arrogant Manns walking the corridors, never failing because they're untried, unquestioned, untwisted? 

Cynthia is Murph's daughter, and she looks older than he does. Russell is Cynthia's husband. They have two kids, Dolores and Richard. Each of them has a kid. One of those kids has a kid. 

Don is Murph's son, and he looks older than Coop too. He's married to Craig, and they have one child, Lily, a surrogate via Cynthia. Lily is seeing a boy named Joseph, goes by Joe. Murph evidently finds that hilarious. 

"History, right?" she croaks to him, and he smiles.

"He look like me?"

Murph laughs. "Not one bit. She's the Coop in that relationship too."

"Don't have the faintest what you mean, darling," he says, just to see her grin. "Nobody ever called me anything but until your mother. Even you kids called me 'Coop.'"

The smile's still there but softened. "Or Dad. Tom– Tom said Dad until. . . "

He grimaces. "'Til Jesse?" he guesses.

She nods, squeezes his hand.

"I'm sorry," she says.

He blinks, and tears fall. "I'm the one who's sorry, Murph. You never did anything wrong."

She snorts, rolls her eyes, and for a moment she's someone else entirely—an old woman inches away from dying, someone who's lived longer without him than she ever did as his daughter. She's almost a stranger.

And then she turns back and meets his eyes, and there she is, his little girl, his Murphy.

"We all do things," she says. "Just because you didn't know, doesn't mean I didn't screw up—a lot. Often. This," she says, gesturing vaguely with her free hand, "did not come swift or easy."

He nods, says, "Neither did this." 

Debrief is there in her hospital room, TARS clunking in for the occasion. A couple government types but three other scientists—besides him and Murph. His insistence they do it here around her schedule. He stays right next to her bed, faces her, talks to her, telling his girl every– everything that stood between him and her, and Tom, and old Donald too. Donald. And Tom. Who never saw him again, grew older and older and died, and him not there doing the same.

And Murphy Cooper with these new scientists visibly in awe of her, smooth and peaceful and only rarely that firebrand he's kept foremost in his mind all these years. 

They have a tough time swallowing what he tells them about Mann. He can see it instantly, their hackles rising up and heads shaking in denial. Murph frowns, and he sees his mom in that look, long forgotten memories of coming in with his head down for one screw-up or another. Fleming, the male scientist in the room, puts his hand over his mouth when Coop outlines just what had to occur to get him down on the ice suffocating and Mann up in the ranger attempting to dock on the Endurance. Then eyebrows go up; then mouths drop; then Murph grins. 

"Eighty year detour at that point," Coop says after a beat of silence. Looks up again at Murph, reaches out and holds her hand. "Had to see Brand off."

Bare whisper of a laugh. "Time dilation," Murph says, looking at him but projecting her voice towards the scientists, "ain't it a bitch."

He laughs and cries, and it's painfully, beautifully awkward.


End file.
